Saturday, January 4, 2014

As most
FT-60r owners should know, the standard battery that comes with the FT-60r
purchase is the FNB-83b. It is an Ni-Mh
type, i.e. nickel metal hydride. The
standard matching charger (PA-44/48) for this battery is designed to ONLY
charge this NI-Mh chemistry but can also handle Ni-Cad (nickel cadmium)
chemistry.

Most FT-60r users quickly learn that the standard battery does
not deliver much operation time under average to heavy use. The battery is rated at 1400 mAh and 7.2
volts. Yaesu does not offer an
alternative battery as you can see from the owner’s manual excerpt below:

The FT-60r
is a great handheld with its dual band features and extended receive
capability. It is a perfect fit for
emergency communications and other service related use. What is needed is a modern battery
alternative that not only extends the operational use of the FT-60r but also
provides additional benefits as well.

Great news! There is
now an option. Recently, Doug, WB7TUJ,
shared with us that he had located such an option. Vertex, the Land Mobile Radio sister division
of Yaesu Amateur Radio, markets several handheld models that share the physical
appearance of the FT-60r. Since the
target audience for LMR is public safety, construction, transportation, etc.,
the power requirements are a bit more demanding. As a result, these LMR models are usually
supplied with the modern Li-ION batteries.

Here is a detailed photo of Doug’s
new FNB-67VLIA battery:

One
of these batteries, the FNB-67VLIA, can be substituted for the standard NiMh
battery of the FT-60r. It can provide
2000 to 2300 mAh of current at 7.2 Volts*. Here is a picture of the battery from a
couple of online sources:

*You may have noticed that
the example products and description actually indicate 7.2, 7.4 Volts and
current ratings of 2000 mAh and 2300 mAh.
This is typical of battery sources.
Be sure to read the purchase ads very carefully and buy the best battery
at the best price you can, i.e. get the best value for your money. You are also recommended to buy Vertex
branded battery to ensure you are getting exactly what it advertised regarding battery
ratings.

Let’s review a few
features and benefits of this Li-ION battery alternative:

·Extended operational window - More radio time,
especially if you normally operate at reduced power modes.

·Easier battery management – Can remain in
charger, battery can be returned to charger after each use.

·Ii-ION does not develop “memory” – The “memory”
effect does not apply to Li-ION chemistry as it does to NiCad or NiMh battery
chemistries.

Do you need a new
charger? Yes!

As mentioned earlier, the Li-ION battery requires a charger
specifically designed for it. That means
your original charger that came as a standard accessory for your FT-60r will
not work and will damage itself and your Li-ION battery. Of course, your original charger will
continue to work just fine with your original NiMh battery type and is a
protected investment.

Here are a couple of
Li-ION charger alternatives suitable for the FNB-67VLIA battery:

Here is an example of both a charger and battery offering on
eBay – Note it is not an authentic Vertex battery but you can make the decision
on whether you want to take the chance it will be as advertised. However, this eBay seller has a good
reputation:

Use the following
table from the FT-60r Owner’s Manual to gauge your operational time from whatever
battery you may be using. Remember,
operating the radio at reduced transmit power levels adds additional time to
your operating window.

Let’s calculate some
expected operating times for both the standard and alternative Li-ION batteries
using the above current specifications….